Jackson may lose place to woman

Date

November 1, 2015

Category

Newspaper Articles

About This Project

Jackson may lose place to woman
N.H. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
wants a panel to find a
female replacement for
Andrew Jackson’s image.
By HOLLY RAMER
The Associated Press
CONCORD, N.H. — The first
woman to serve as both governor
and U.S. senator is backing a cam-
paign to put a female face on the
$20 bill.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen filed legis-
lation this week that would create
a citizens panel to recommend
an appropriate choice to the trea-
sury secretary. She is hoping to
build on the work of Women on
20s, a national campaign pushing
for new $20 bills by 2020, the 100th
anniversary of the constitutional
amendment guaranteeing women
the right to vote.
“I think there are a lot of oppor-
tunities that we sometimes don’t
think about to point out the signif-
icant contributions women have
made in U.S. history,” Shaheen
said. “And this is one of those op-
portunities.”
The current portrait of former
President Andrew Jackson has
stared out from the face of the $20
since 1928. But paper currency is
redesigned every seven to 10 years
to thwart counterfeiters, and the
latest $20 notes entered circula-
tion in 2003. Changes can be or-
dered by the treasury secretary
or president without an act of Con-
gress, and Shaheen’s bill wouldn’t
compel either to do so. Still, she
and campaign supporters hope it
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The Associated Press
President Andrew Jackson has adorned the $20 bill since
1928, but some want to replace his image with that of a
distinguished woman. Two suggestions are civil rights icon
Rosa Parks, left, and former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
will boost public support for
redesigning the currency and
spur broader conversation
about the achievements of
American women.
Barbara Ortiz Howard
founded Women on 20s last
year to honor historic wom-
en by making them visible in
everyday lives. With help from
experts in women’s history,
the group compiled a list of 15
candidates that was narrowed
to four finalists after a month
of online voting: former first
lady Eleanor Roosevelt, es-
caped slave and leading ab-
olitionist Harriet mman,
civil rights icon Rosa Parks
and former Cherokee Nation
Chief Wilma Mankiller. More
than 230,000 people voted in
the first week after the final-
ists were announced April 6,
said the group’s executive di-
rector, Susan Ades Stone.
Stone said voting will contin-
ue as long as interest remains
high, though the group may
approach the White House in
the next few weeks.